Abstract

In spite of the assurances of the Indian Constitution, the real-time picture of rural justice administration suggests otherwise. Nyaya Panchayat, which was centred on the Panchayat ideal of participatory grass-root justice, was widely used in India during the early years of independence. As we progressed through the 1970s and 1980s, the effectiveness of indigenous justice instruments decreased. The Parliament ultimately approved the Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008, in aim to reestablish the indigenous form of dispute settlement system by learning from past failures. A look at the current Gram Nyayalaya System reveals that justice delivery in rural India has not changed much in the 11 years since its adoption, save from a dramatic shift from the Panchayat worldview. Thus, this paper focuses on the function of Nyaya Panchayats in the rural judicial system and compares pre-independence and post-independence settings. The study also examines the current Gram Nyayalayas in light of the 2008 enactment, focusing on their long-term viability in opposition to the Panchayat ideology. As a result of their investigation, the writers have now come up with appropriate recommendations in this area.

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